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Who is Kanvas Grey

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June 13, 2013 · admin

It started at the turn of the century... actually, we need to go back a step.

In 1993 a band called Fried Not Steamed was formed. Liam Brown was the lead singer with Ben Thomas on guitar. Liam and Ben, with friends Chris, Martin and Fuji, entered the School Battle of the Bands. With a cover song and one original song called 'An agrument made form watching TV' the band went on to win the competition, record two EPs and perform at numerous live Melbourne venues throughout the early 90s.

Skip ahead a few years and Ben continued to write songs while performing in various bands. He covered most genres including rock, swing/jazz and funk. It was during this period that Ben tested his song-writing skills with a few solo shows, and when he met Adam Donaldson.

Adam was filling-in for a swing/jazz gig at Manchester Lane in Melbourne's Flinders Lane. The band called The Swing Thing had a regular spot there every Friday and Saturday night.

After rehearsal one day Ben dragged Adam off for another jam, but this time, with no jazz. And so, Kanvas Grey was created - the very first rehearsal and
recording can be heard at the end of their first album release Hope.

The duo performed shows all around Melbourne with one of the best performances being at The Planet Cafe on Brunswick Street (listen here). For kicks, Adam and Ben had also taken to busking every Wednesday lunchtime outside the State Library of Victoria, all the while searching for a bass player to complete the KG sound.

Soon enough, bass player Dan Murphy and pianist Adrian Portell were on board. At a similar time, KG enlisted the help of another local muso Mark Fitzgerald to help promote the band.

In 2003 and 2004 KG were kept incredibly busy playing gigs across the country in both capital cities and regional venues. This time also included a Sydney tour/recording with Chris Goodes to create an EP titled So Much To Learn. Mark organised two sold out nights at the Ding Dong Lounge in Melbourne to release the EP. A tour was also organised across Victoria finishing in Adelaide, playing with an awesome band, August Falls. The pinnacle was a stopover in Bendigo to support Thirsty Merc.

With time came change. Adam and Dan left to pursue other opportunities. Mark who is also a drummer joined KG as an official band member and new bassist Andrew McManus came on board. Whilst the new look KG played frequent gigs, Ben had started piecing together new songs for future albums. In 2005 Andy left and was replaced by Justin Jolley, who's sound suited Ben's new songs perfectly. In 2006 KG released their second album Unless You Fall and followed this release with a tour through the Europe. Ben performed 25 shows in five weeks at various venues and festivals, building a loyal KG following along the way.

At the end of 2007 another album was completed, this time showcasing more of a rock element. Self titled, the 13 tracks included Tuesdays and Spartacus. Ben, Mark and Justin continued to perform this new album around Victoria, up to Sydney and across to Adelaide. Much fun was had with local and country radio play, regular spots in regional venues and a large following coming along to the album launch.

Time was hard to come by when Ben and his wife had twins! Justin became a police officer and Mark started a new business in video/photography. KG decided to take some time out.

In 2012 Ben decided to get things moving again. After a decade of harrassing, original bandmate Liam had finally picked up the bass guitar! Liam took to the instrument like a professional and hasn't looked back. Adam returned to KG with a new sense of excitement and pushed KG into a new sound direction. In some ways it has been a return to the first album Hope with complex timings and more interesting chord structures but there is a maturity in the KG sound and in the new songs being created. You can hear this in Million Steps.

A new album is eagerly underway and Liam, Adam and Ben can't wait to deliver it to you.